Papua New Guinea (2019) Diary

PAPUA NEW GUINEA CRUISE 10 DAYS 19/2-1/3/2019 PAPUA NEW GUINEA CRUISE 10 DAYS 19/2-1/3/2019

19-2-2019 Tuesday Embark P&O Pacific Aria
We had a leisurely breakfast this morning, finished packing, locked up the house and took a 12.30pm taxi to the Brisbane Portside Cruise terminal at Hamilton. This trip is from Brisbane and back to Brisbane, with no flights - yay! There was not much delay in booking in and getting aboard. When we got to our cabin our checked bags were already inside, complete with "Kombucha". It was interesting watching from our balcony, at all the businesses along the banks, as we made our way down the Brisbane River to the mouth and out into the open ocean.

Our ship has a passenger capacity of 1500 but there's only 1300 on board this trip with about 600 crew.

20-2-2019 Wednesday At Sea
Lazy morning start - had a late breakfast, and then went for our compulsory emergency drill, complete with lifejacket at 11am. We were a bit too late for it yesterday, mistakenly, so it was rescheduled for us, along with 5 other passengers. We booked a tour at our first port, Alotau, bought some duty free alcohol (which we can only pick up on the morning of our departure), and then had a relaxing afternoon watching a movie in our cabin.

We have been motoring along quite nicely, with just a gentle roll side to side occasionally. There doesn't appear to be any concern by the Captain about the fact that we're driving northward, toward the latest developing cyclone, Oma, up off the coast of north Queensland so we'll take that as a good sign.

21-2-2019 Thursday At Sea
Today we attended a talk by a man, Max Quanchi, on the battle of Milne Bay, where we will be docking tomorrow. I didn't fully realise the extent of the Japanese presence in New Guinea, so close to Australia, during the second world war. They had stationed themselves in a number of places, the main one being the New Guinea town of Rabaul, and they planned to expand southward, down toward Australia. Japan doesn't have any of its own resources, like tin, oil and aluminium (I think), and this was its chance of getting control of some. The battle of Milne Bay was the first defeat on land of Japanese forces, a crucial turning point in the Pacific War. This was Japan's second attempt to occupy the south coast of Papua New Guinea, and defeat forced a rethink of Japan's strategy. There was hand-to-hand jungle fighting with air power a deciding factor. After other battles in 1942 at Guadalcanal, Kokoda and the Bismarck Sea, the Japanese expansion southward was halted and then became a stalemate. The tide of war had changed.

It's been a bit rougher today, especially as the day worn on. Our cabin is just a little past the middle and in the front half of the ship, so we're in not too bad a spot but still getting plenty of rolling.

22-2-2019 Friday Alotau and Milne Bay
We docked at Alotau at 9am. Alotau is the capital of Milne Bay Province, and the main port for the 160 islands that encompass the area. Alotau and Milne Bay are perhaps best known as being the site for the Battle of Milne Bay where imperial Japanese forces suffered their first loss in WWII in 1942 at the hands of Australian and American troops stationed there. An Australian soldier (from Crows Nest in Qld), John Alexander French, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his sole participation in destroying 3 enemy machine gun posts. He was wounded and died in the process at very young age of 28 years. His actions saved casualties and assured the success of the attack. A memorial to him and the Milne Bay Battle stands on the esplanade near the town centre.

New Guinean natives in traditional dress performed their cultural welcome dance on the pier, in the morning and also in the afternoon as we were coming back to the boat. After breakfast we caught the non-airconditoned shuttle bus to see the Cultural Festival at the Wanigili Centre, put on for the cruise people. This mini festival is loosely based on the traditional Canoe and Kundu Festival which is held in November. The New Guinean natives performed their cultural dances in their traditional dress, complete with body paint, headdress and grass skirts. They were very impressive and even a couple little ones (about 4 years old) were involved as well. It was quite hot and humid and there were quite a few stalls set up to sell beautiful carvings, shells, bright colourful clothes and coconut drinks straight out of the coconut. There was a cafe upstairs where drinks and food were being sold.

Dave left by himself to take the 25 min walk back to the boat, so he could take photos of the area. I would've normally walked too but it was not picturesque enough and it was too hot for me. He also went to the town to get some local currency, the Kina, from an ATM - he waited about an hour behind a very long line of locals. We assumed it must be pay day or similar. After taking the shuttle back to the boat I walked back out the gate a short way, to the not-for-profit Massim Museum and Cultural Centre. The museum included a display of the Milne Bay Battle historical details, paintings by locals, and exhibits of woven baskets and string bags. A whole room was dedicated to small beautiful wood carvings (about 1 foot/30cms tall) with accompanying typed explanations of the story/legend behind the carving.

23-2-2019 Saturday Kitava Island
Located in the Milne Bay Province, Kitava is a small island off the main Trobriand Island of Kiriwina. Here life remains as it was thousands of years ago with very little external influence, no shops. The landing site is surrounded by stunning white sand beaches lined with natural shade trees. Population is 3,000. Just offshore lies the picture perfect sand atoll Nuratu Island. The stunning island lies a mere 300 metres off the main Novau beach, accessible by local transportation only (due to strong currents swimming to the island is prohibited). Scientists claim that the diet of Kitava Island is one of the last places on earth where dietary habits from the original inhabitants are virtually unchanged. The diet - consisting of root vegetables (such as yams), tropical fruit, fish and coconuts, is said to be one of the healthiest on the planet. (They do take donations of money here though, sell products and charge to see caves so they must be using the money to buy some things, maybe on Kiriwina Island.) Kitava maintains a year-round tropical climate with daytime temperatures ranging from 25-30 degrees C.

We anchored out in the water a short way away from the small island of Kitava, at 7am and soon after people were able to go ashore via tenders. We went for an early breakfast before getting our gear and heading off for the tenders. We went over at about 8.30am and returned at 11am and it was a beautiful sunny day. There was a long jetty to the shore and the water was crystal clear with very beautiful white sand. We walked along the beach viewing the many stalls set up parallel to the waterline. There were many products for sale including wood carvings, shells, woven bags, and colourful clothes and wrap-arounds.

We paid 5Kina each (AU2.50) to go up to view 2 ancestral burial caves complete with human (as we were told) skulls and long bones. The guy said this is how their ancestors were buried but today it's the sames as the rest of the world (inground graves). A young child about 8 was tasked with helping me up the steep bits, holding my arm, although I didn't really need help. We gave him 5Kina at the end. All the natives were very polite and helpful - seems donations from tourists might be their main income There were several groups of primary type school kids performing songs and dances for donations. The kids all looked healthy and happy to be performing. They do all live, and kids go to school, here on the island. There were some huts built out of palm leaves near the stalls, but a modern convenience we noticed was 1 solar panel lying horizontal at the doorway to the hut (probably to power the tv...)

We spoke to one older native and he said he was the chief for the little beach area where we stood. I asked him if the betel nuts grew on the trees here, and he said yes - these trees look similar to the coconut palm trees. This man showed us, out of his shoulder bag, a betel nut, a mustard stick and lime (white powder) in what looked like a tomato sauce type plastic bottle. The betel nut looked like a very small green pawpaw. They chew these 3 things together and it turns red and gives them a very good feeling - he said they don't need alcohol. All the adults have black or reddish teeth and tongue, and it doesn't look very nice at all. Seeing a mother with this discoloured mouth and teeth and holding a young baby, was a bit disconcerting - although it I can understand it'd make coping with a crying/sick baby a lot easier....

There were lots dogs everywhere. A guy told me they were all owned and also ate the same thing as the people - maybe that's why they looked so scrawny and skinny - no real meat. We saw one eating coconut. We also saw 2 small pigs tied up at the back of one hut and I didn't really think about it til now - what were they doing there?! The natives only eat fish....maybe a treat?

Dave went snorkelling and saw plenty of sealife but said the water was a little murky even though it was crystal clear at the jetty - possibly due to all the people snorkelling as well. To get over to Nuratu Island you have to get a canoe 'taxi service' which is a crude looking boat with a floor that's made of poles tied together for you to sit on. You just sit on the raft-like boat which has a sail. The island isn't inhabited but there is a good opportunity for snorkellers as it's surrounded by abundant reef and fish life.

We went to dinner at one of the other restaurants tonight (reservation required), the Dragon Lady, an Asian experience. There's 3 restaurants (table service) on the ship that are no extra charge (as well as The Pantry where we usually go, where you walk around and say what you want and then find a free table) but you have to make a reservation. The Dragon Lady is one of them. It was pretty good. We shared a table with 2 other ladies (from Laidley Qld) who were quite sociable so we got on pretty well.

24-2-2019 Sunday Rabaul
Rabaul, population 3885, the former capital of New Britain is a town with a colourful history and no stranger to rebuilding itself from the ground up. It's been destroyed by volcano eruptions in 1937 and 1994, as well as being all but flattened by aerial bombardmnent in World War II. Its kilometres of underground tunnels built by the Japanese during its occupation in WWII are a testament to its wartime past. Rabaul harbour is one of the most impressive in the entire Pacific basin. In 1994 Mt Tavurvur erupted and covered Rabaul in volcanic ash. The town was rapidly relocated 20 kilometres away to the town of Kokopo, the new commercial centre.

We docked at Rabaul at about 9am but weren't cleared to leave the boat until about 9.45am. We were booked on a half day tour with Kokopo Tours at AUD$85 each - expensive but our guide was good, we did have an air-conditoned minibus, and nicely for us we were the only 2 on the tour. We've noticed wherever we go so far at our port stops, the people are very friendly, always say hello and the kids are especially friendly, gravitate to us, curious, and delighted if we say hello and ask to take a photo.

Firstly we drove to the Rabaul Volcano Observatory atop a very steep hill, which provided excellent views of the harbour as well as the jungle. Because it was Sunday the place was closed so we couldn't see the machines and be given explanations. The early warning system enables the successful evacuation of susceptible areas before the last eruption in 2014, resulting in only 5 deaths. As we drove around, the roads were quite rough in places with big potholes and our driver had to go very slow. Our guide explained that there'd been a lot of rain recently and today was the first day of sunshine for a while, so we were lucky. She explained that all the black soil around is actually volcanic ash from 1994, and it is easily washed away and eroded with the heavy rain, making potholes to be created more easily. We passed big expanses of open land with just some vegetation on it - these areas used to be villages, which were evacuated and wiped out by all the volcanic material raining down on, and completely covering, all these villages.

Our next stop was Mt Tavurvur, which is one of the most active volcanoes in the South Pacific. Here there are views of what the locals call the 'bubbling' beach below. The bubbling or hot (very) springs result from an underwater volcanic vent, which is so hot the water literally boils. The hot water springs out through the ground and flows into the ocean about 20 metres away. Apparently the locals sometimes cook food in this water and severe burns would result if a person fell in this water. There used to be an airstrip closeby but it was destroyed and has been rebuilt further away from the volcano, and several hotels have been deserted since being covered in ash.

Onward now to General Yamamoto's Bunker, situated next to the New Guinea Club, where expats enjoyed life pre-war. Interestingly, Yamamoto's bunker has survived but he was killed in a plane crash. It was not possible to enter the bunker due to the recent rains but the Club has been set up now as the Rabaul Historic Museum with a chronological display, original furnishings and war relics. The Japanese Barge Tunnels are one of the great wartime Japanese feats. The tunnels were part of a network of rail tracks that connected barges and ships with munitions' stores. The Japanese headquarters and barracks were constructed using the slave labour of captured Indian/Australian and indigenous prisoners of war. The main tunnel still contains five rusting barges, but we weren't able to go there at all either due to the rains.

Lastly we drove to view The Rabaul 1942-45 War Memorial and also on the same spot, the Montevideo Maru Memorial. The Japanese ship, Montevideo Maru, sailed from this harbour in June 1942, carrying 845 allied prisoners of war and 208 civilian internees. The ship was torpedoed by the Americans (unaware of the nature of the cargo) off the Philippine Islands on 1 July 1942, and sank with the loss of all lives - 1053 lives.

We went to dinner tonight at another of the restaurants that are no extra charge, Angelo's, an Italian experience. It was very nice and we again, shared a table with 2 nice (different) ladies from Qld.

Monday 25-2-2019 Kiriwina Island
Located in Papua New Guinea's Milne Bay Province, Kiriwina is the largest and by far the most populous of the Trobriand Islands, and home to one of the most colourful and fascinating cultures on earth. In this matrilineal society, women enjoy higher status than men. Also pigs are an indicator of wealth. Population is 12,000. Kiriwina maintains a year-round tropical climate with daytime temperatures ranging from 25-30 degrees C.

We docked about 9am but didn't actually get ashore until close to 12.00! It seemed to take a very long time today to get people moved on to the tenders and ashore to the island - not sure what the problem was. When we did get ashore, again the water and beach was beautiful! Locals were again selling their goods on the beach. Today we bought 2 nice shells (for 10 Kina each - about AUD4). We didn't see one but apparently there are 'yam huts' here which act like banks (yams are very, very valuable on Kiriwina).

Dave snorkelled again but didn't see a lot, not as good as the other day. We saw a couple locals coming back from the boats with their catch threaded onto big round wire carry handles, lots of small tuna fish, only about 1 foot (25 cms). We're used to seeing tuna (only on the tv) as quite large fish. A lovely young girl about15 yrs old, came and sat next to me and chatted to me and kept me company the whole time I was waiting, (probably expecting something like money, which is ok) while Dave was snorkelling. She had the telltale slightly discoloured orangey teeth from chewing the betel nut, mustard stick and lime powder. - no wonder she was happy. When we were leaving I asked if I could have a photo with her and she seemed very happy about that. After Dave took the photo I gave her the small amount of local money I had left (6Kina - equal to only about AUD2.50) and she was very happy. They are always looking for help with buying items for school.

The young girl and I had been sitting in the shade, at the bottom of a jagged 3 metre limestone wall with a shady overhang, which dripped water down at various spots. I watched as locals constantly went to a spot nearby along the limestone wall where the seawater lapped, and washed their faces, washed water up on their toddlers after swimming, and one lady filled her water bottle. Freshwater was running out of the limestone into the seawater. I saw another girl come from further around the limestone structure with several plastic bottles of water - there must be a better freshwater springs further along. I told Dave when he came back so he went over for a drink. He said it was ok, with a slight taste, a bit like some of the artesian waters had in Australia when we were travelling.

26-2-2019 Tuesday Conflict Islands/At Sea
We docked at the Conflict Islands at 7am but the Captain announced over the loud speaker that we were not going to stop because the weather was too rough. He also said the tenders would not be able to safely dock at the jetty because there were waves breaking over the jetty's end, and it wouldn't be safe for us to get on and off. It was a shame because it was a beautiful sunny clear day and apparently this was the best place out of all the ports for snorkelling. I suppose we were lucky in one way - another guest I spoke to said she knew someone on a previous trip whose ship didn't stop at 2 ports because it was too rough, we've only had 1. So we slowly continued on our way back toward Brisbane but will still only arrive in Brisbane at the scheduled day/time - and we'll really just have an extra day at sea.

The Conflict Islands are a coral atoll 152 kms (94 miles) off the tip of mainland PNG. They are located in the Coral Sea, comprising 21 separate, pristine tropical islands, surrounding a spectacular blue lagoon with a pristine reef system. It's one of the most remote locations in the Coral Sea so you're guaranteed to feel a million miles away from everyday life. In 1789 the archipaelago was discovered by the crew of the HMS Cormorant ship. The islands were first chartered in 1886 and are named after the HMS Conflict, a British naval ship built and based in Sydney, Australia. We've been told the islands are currently owned by an Australian. They are mostly uninhabited and a third of the world's species of marine fish shelter here, from the little ghost pipe fish to the enormous killer whales. Other inhabitants also play in the tropical waters including turtles, dolphins and mantarays.

Our ship's own promotional paper says "the atoll has a deep channel through the outer reef system, which allows cruise ships to anchor safely in the atoll lagoon" - which is why I can't understand why we couldn't have just anchored inside the lagoon, at least for the rest of the day (until normal departure time), instead of sailing off straight away into the open ocean, where we were pitching quite a bit, and there's nothing to look at except open ocean. We could've enjoyed the scenery of the beautiful blue lagoon waters and might've had a chance of seeing some of those marine animals, instead of just normal open ocean. I wrote this very question down on paper and gave it to reception for the Captain to answer - I think it is a very relevant question.

As we sailed away from the Conflict Islands we stood on our balcony and watched the beautiful reef/islands/lagoon combination disappear, with the white water crashing on the shallow edges. It looked like a beach on the mainland instead of a small group of islands out in the middle of the Coral Sea. As we watched groups of birds flew alongside our boat, obviously watching for prey that would be stirred up in the water by our ship's movement. Some looked like gannets, that I've seen on The Bro's nature shows. They would fly along and then all of sudden, circle, and then dive down into the water, before emerging and swallowing their catch. Amazingly Dave also saw some flying fish, shoot out of the water, in desperation to get away from their potential captors. Dave managed to get some photos of the flying fish in flight. Because of the distance and without the equipment of the professionals, they weren't as clear as he'd have liked, but they were good enough.

27-2-2019 Wednesday At Sea
A leisurely day today - just relaxed and watched some movies. I was contacted by a staff member to meet to address my question to the Captain yesterday about not stopping for the day at Conflict Islands. He said we didn't stop for the day as the weather was going to get worse so it was better to start our journey back at that time and go at a slower pace, than stay there for the day and have to go at a faster pace through rougher waters. This would be better for the 'cruiselings' as we are called. I said I understood and accepted that however it would've been better if the Captain had given that explanation over the ship's speakers at the time, because I am sure there would've been others who would've had the same thoughts as me.

28-2-2019 Thursday At Sea Last Day
Packed up our bags this morning as they are to be left outside in the hall tonight for removal downstairs and off the ship tomorrow ready for our pick up. The boat was a pitching quite a bit last night and even at midnight. This morning it is still a little rough and now the ship is rolling as well as pitching - doesn't make for stable stomachs.

1-3-2019 Friday Disembarkation
Up at 6am as we had to vacate our room by 6.30am and assemble in a lounge downstairs at 6.45am. There we waited to be called to disembark, collect our bags, go through Customs and get our booked waiting taxi home. Dave went down earlier to collect our duty free alcohol. We didn't bother with breakfast as it was a bit early and we could get something at home later.